Four drives.
273 yards.
38 plays.
12 first downs.
Three touchdowns. One field goal.
22 points.
That's what the Patriots' defense allowed to the Houston Texans' offense, which entered the game 28th in points (was shutout last week), 30th in yards and 32nd in first downs (30th overall, 28th pass, 31st rush in FootballOutsider.com's advanced metrics), two plays into the third quarter.
Yes, with the season basically on the line, the defense did rise up and limit the Texans to two first downs and 79 yards in the final 26:43 and help the Patriots leave Houston, which has suddenly turned into a house of Patriots horrors, with a desperate victory.
That's great. Awesome.
But who are we kidding here? That first-half showing against a Texans team — in rebuilding mode, with a rookie QB and a practice squad receiver tearing through the Patriots secondary — was pathetic. Even Bill Belichick didn't sugarcoat it.
"As a defense, I don't think we played well very well in the first half, period, so we have to do a lot better than that," he said. "To give up two 20-play drives, giving up 80-yard touchdown, that's not very good.
"They converted almost every third down in the first half. Penalties, we had a couple – well, one penalty on third-down conversion, hit a couple slants, short-yardage plays, scramble play. It was just ... not very good on third down. We got them in third down. Just didn’t win on third down."
You could almost hear the disdain in Belichick's voice.
This is a defense the Patriots have spent $89.7 million on — the seventh-most in the league. It was at or near the top of the league before they traded Stephon Gilmore away for peanuts. Oh, sure, the Patriots were all set in the secondary after the Bucs game and didn't need Gilmore. Apparently, Jalen Mills is Deion Sanders because he missed Sunday's game and the Patriots suddenly couldn't stop anyone in Houston, including the beer vendors.
Guess who's on the schedule next? The Dallas Cowboys. If the Texans, Davis Mills and somebody named Chris Moore were able to do that to the Patriots, what are Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, Tony Pollard, Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb and Cedrick Wilson going to do to them?
Dallas entered Sunday fourth in points, third in yards and second in first downs (3rd overall, 5th pass, 1st rush in advanced metrics).
In a 44-24 victory over the Giants on Sunday, Dallas had 515 total yards, 201 yards rushing and Prescott threw for 302 yards and three touchdowns.
The Cowboys make the Texans look like Foxborough High.
"The defense came out flat," said Matthew Judon, one of the few who has made plays consistently on defense. "We were giving up yards, but they were hitting us on screens and stuff like that. But kudos to our offense. Our offense was kind of picking us up."
An offense that was missing 4/5ths of their starting line...
What's the defense's excuse?
It wasn't supposed to be like this.
Everyone knew the Patriots' offense was going to be a work in progress for a while with a rookie QB, and nearly all-new receivers and tight ends. If it took Tom Brady and Bucs until the 13th game to hit their stride and figure things out last season, New England wasn't going to be any faster.
The defense, Belichick's baby, was going to hold the fort and be the heart of this team. They would win them some games.
Wrong, especially with the game on the line.
Couldn't stop Tua Tagovailoa.
Couldn't stop the New Orleans rushing offense.
Couldn't stop an off Brady on a rainy night.
Couldn't stop Mills early. And thank goodness the Patriots' offense was able to run off, basically, the last 7 minutes of the game and Houston's final two timeouts ... how many were confident the Patriots would stop Mills if the game was on the line? They hadn't done it yet.
Yes, the Patriots' defense did their job when it mattered and helped secure a desperately needed victory. There's no question about it. They've done the same in many games this season.
But a half-good defense is not what this team paid for, nor what it needs to be successful.
Enough is enough.
Judon has almost earned his $13.635 million this season already, with two more sacks. Judon set a team record with 6½ sacks through the first five games. The previous record was 5½ sacks by Chandler Jones in 2015 and Andre Tippett in 1984.
But the others?
Devin McCourty had perhaps his worst game as a pro on Sunday. Possibly the same for JC Jackson. Dont'a Hightower and Kyle Van Noy continue to look like their best ball is behind them. You can do up and down the list on defense. It's not nearly good enough.
It needs to end. It needs to stop. The Patriots are fortunate to be 2-3. A win over Dallas — which will have to feature a classic Patriots defensive shutdown — could change everything.
It has to come from the defense. The Patriots need the defense to earn their money and lead this team.
If they do, New England has the makings of a good football team that can turn things around. But we're entering Week 6. We knew the offense would take time, but not the defense. They are way overdue.
"Regardless of the score, our record, we are a really good football team," said Judon, who not only has been great on the field but has become the voice of reason off it. "We're going to make that clear here in the upcoming weeks, but we have to just continue to grind. We have to continue to come into work, ready to work, and willing to work, and understand the stuff that we did bad and then understand the stuff that we did good, and we’ve got to correct it."
Judon knows the time is now.